


Roosters Don’t Have Teeth, But Wolves Do

by thatmavin



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Blood, Feral Behavior, Happy Ending, Human!Ray, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other, Pack Dynamics, Pack Scenting, Platonic Pack Kissing, Werewolves, alpha!Joel, inhuman!Burnie, there are some AHOT6 feels tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-10 15:01:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7849657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatmavin/pseuds/thatmavin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>Ray closed his eyes and hoped that if he didn’t move, the wolf wouldn’t notice him anymore.</em><br/><strong></strong><br/><em>But, that wasn’t the case.</em><br/> </p><p>--</p><p>Joel goes missing not long after Ray is attacked by a large creature with jet black fur, and things get weirder and weirder after that. Not that things weren't strange already.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Discovery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Really_Lame_Fiction](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Really_Lame_Fiction/gifts).



> Wow, so this fic was supposed to just be a quick gift to someone, and only about 2k words or so. But, somehow I've written over 23k+ words for it already. This is for Jess, @youre-my-boi-micool on Tumblr. One of the best artists out there and the heart eyes of my life. I love her to pieces, and I hope she likes this fic. 
> 
> (Hey, Jess...my favorite thing about this fic is still the title tbh.)
> 
> Writing this helped me get over some major writer's blocks. I'll be updating some of my other fics very soon because of how much this fic got my old writer's gears turning. 
> 
> And As Always,  
> Thanks for Reading!  
> ~ThatMavin
> 
> OH, just one more thing -- this fic takes place in 636 before the move to the big studio. Just saying, alright! See ya.  
> (^_^)"/"

“That’s just what life is about, Ray.”

“I don’t understand.”

“People live, and then we die.” She says it gently enough that it doesn’t sound as bleak as it actually is. “It’s not anyone’s fault, and it’s not a bad thing. Death isn’t ugly or cruel, it’s a part of life.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s alright if you don’t.” His mother took in a shuddery breath. “Sometimes it’s better if you don’t dwell on those sorts of things, sweetheart.”

“There has to be more than that.”

“More than…what?”

“More than everything,” Ray shook his head, then needed to push his glasses back into place. “Life can’t just be living and dying. There’s no point to any of that.”

“There is _much_ , much more.” She runs her hand over his hair. “Your grandmother accomplished so many great things in her life, and she loved you so much.”

“What if I don’t accomplish anything?” Ray asks. “What if my life isn’t that great? Isn’t that a waste?”

“We’re not all meant to accomplish huge things, I won’t lie to you.” His mother says. “Some of us are here for smaller things. Maybe to impact others, or some of us are just meant to keep life going…” She pauses. “Some of us are simply meant to discover things.”

“Discover things?” Ray snorts. “What, like Christopher Columbus.”

“Well, he didn’t really discover anything now did he?” She places a kiss on Ray’s brow. “You should stay home from school tomorrow.”

“Why?” Ray wasn’t complaining though.

“Just…take a bit of time, Ray.” His mother walks to his bedroom door and opens it. “Everyone needs to take a bit of time when they’re sad.”

~*~

Ray didn’t discover anything the year his grandmother died. Or the year after that, not really. He discovered something the year he turned seventeen, and that was that alcohol is poison and it destroys people. When he turned eighteen, he graduated from high school. That was ‘accomplishing something’, his family was so proud. Everyone treated him like he was royalty after graduation. But, then everything sort of came to a dull hum. What was he going to do now?

University isn’t for everyone, and Ray wasn’t sure if it was for him. He knew he couldn’t afford it, for one thing. So, he just stayed home and kept going to work. That carried on for quite some time.

He didn’t discover much again until the year he turned 21, and the thing he discovered was Michael Jones. He met the dude online, and then in person six months later. After Michael Jones, Ray discovered Rooster Teeth. And, that… _that_ was probably the most important thing that Ray will ever discover – or so he thinks.

 

_____________________________

 

 

**_Three years later_ **

 

“Hey what’s up everybody!” Geoff spoke into his mic, and the rest of the AH members did their general whoops, cheers, greetings and Gavin Noises™. “Who’s ready for some Minecraft?”

“Just fucking…punch my face.” Ray deadpanned, then cut a teasing glance to his right at Michael. The redhead chuckled and shook his head.

“Ray’s _favorite_ game!” Michael called into his microphone before beginning to move his character around on screen. “What are we doing today, Geoff?”

“Geoffrey,” Gavin cuts in. “Are you actually _playing_ Minecraft today, or yet again, watching us play?”

“What the hell do you think, Gav?” Ryan asks from his makeshift setup on the sofa.

“Hey, Geoff,” Jack spoke next. “You don’t need to validate yourself. You’re a big boy, you don’t have to play video games if you don’t want to.”

“Thank you, Jack.” Geoff turns his head to see Jack. “I knew someone had my back in here.”

“Geoff, Geoff! I have your back!” Michael says, and everyone laughs at the eager tone he puts on.

This was Ray’s _job_ now, joking around with five other guys in a cramped office space. It wasn’t anything that Ray _ever_ imagined himself doing. Playing video games for a living was something that his parents often joked that Ray should look into. It was always a _joke_ , but…this was…a dream now. And, Ray was living it.

~*~

“C’mon, Ray!” Michael followed Ray out of the AH office after work one day. “You never hang out with us!”

“Maybe there’s a reason for that.” Ray shrugs as he raises his backpack higher on his shoulders. Ray was in his twenties now, yet he never quite outgrew the lame high school kid look. “It’s not that I don’t think you guys are great. But, social settings…aren’t really my thing. Never have been. It’s literally _nothing_ against you guys.”

Michael opened his mouth to respond to Ray again, but, someone else caught his eyes. He was looking over Ray’s shoulder now as someone was passing, heading to the front door.

“Heyman,” Michael called, stopping the other man in his tracks. The man turned around on his heels and looked at Michael, then at Ray, then back to Michael with risen eyebrows.

“This your guy?” The older man asks, tone casual but also…a bit stern.

Michael snorts. “Well, don’t fucking say it like _that_ ,” He responds. “But yeah, this is our new AH member. Isn’t he wonderful?” Michael teases and then suddenly, he’s pushing Ray closer to the stranger.

Well, not a complete stranger. Ray remembers the man sitting on the white couch in the AH office during Ray’s first week. It’s been months now, but he still remembers the guy sitting there on the sofa. Ray is pretty sure that the guy was there to watch him. Ray could feel the eyes burning into his soul from the couch then. The same odd feeling clouds over Ray now as he is shoved towards the guy.

“Um, hi…” Ray says once Michael stops pushing him. He’s a couple feet away from the man, still too close in Ray’s opinion. But, Michael is standing so close at Ray's back that Ray can’t turn around. “You’re, uh, Joel, right?”

“Yeah, I’m-“ Joel is about to reply, but Michael cuts him off.

“This is Joel! He’s going to be hanging out with us after work as well!” Michael says, a bit more genuinely excitedly than Ray’s heard him talk in a while. “It’s hard to get him to hang out with us sometimes, too. But, he gave in for tonight. You should give in, Ray.”

“Why do all of you make everything sound so strange?” Ray asks, looking over his shoulder at Michael. “ _Give in_ , you make it sound like…I don’t know. Kind of like a cult or something.”

“A cult?” Joel’s voice goes up an octave on the last word. “You think hanging out with good friends and a few drinks sounds like a cult?”

“If I’m going to have to sit around with people unwillingly and drink from the same vessel…I mean, ya know.” Ray is being sarcastic, and Joel laughs. Not everyone who doesn’t know Ray well laughs at his sarcasm, Ray must admit that he appreciates it.

“Ray doesn’t drink.” Michael explains to Joel. “But, Ray,” He continues. “Ryan doesn’t either. You don’t have to drink, let alone from a fucking ‘ _vessel_ ’... what the fuck?”

Ray sighs. “Do I _have_ to go?”

“Yes.” Michael says, at the same time that Joel says “No.”

Ray looks between the two of men, watching them have a silent conversation with their eyes. Michael’s glare is harsher than Joel’s. Joel’s glare seems more like a warning.

“ _Behave_.” Joel says in a clipped tone, and Michael’s shoulders relax. Oddly, it feels like an intimate exchange between Michael and Joel, and Ray sort of feels like he shouldn’t have seen it.

It’s just the way that Michael backed down…it seemed like he did it for personal reasons. And, the way Joel said ‘behave’ was more…than friendly. It was almost the tone of someone who expects you to ‘know better’, like a parent.

Michael gives a subtle nod to Joel that Ray isn’t sure he imagined or not.

“Ray,” Joel finally gives the younger man his attention again. “If you’d like to come tonight, please do. If not, don’t worry about it. I’m a bit of a lone wolf, too.”

Michael smirks at that, and Ray wonders if it’s an inside joke. Seems that way.

“Well,” Ray doesn’t mean to sound so whiny when he says it. “I’m…it’s just…okay. Fine, yeah. I’ll go.”

“Really?” Michael exclaims excitedly. “You’ll have fun, I promise!”

Joel doesn’t beam in the way that Michael does, but he seems just as pleased.

“Good,” Joel says. “See you all there.” He turns on his heels once again, then leaves the building.

Ray watches him go, then turns to Michael. “So…who’s house are we meeting at? Please don’t say we’re meeting at some shitty bar.”

Michael chuckles. “Not a bar…but not really…one of our houses, either.”

Ray can feel his eyebrows slowly beginning to rise.

~*~

It’s not one of their houses, Michael was right.

Ryan lives on the other side of town, Michael lives in the same apartment complex as Ray, Gavin lives in Geoff’s suburban house with him…and who knows where Joel lives. Not _here_ though.

Where Michael drives Ray, is _a house_. But, it’s far away from the RT headquarters. At least an hour long drive – Ray doesn’t know exactly how long because he fell asleep. It was a bit startling to wake up in the fucking middle of nowhere, but yolo or whatever.

“Where the hell are we?” Ray asks, wiping sleep-drool from the corner of his mouth, gross.

“We call this the ‘Den’,” Michael informs Ray with a small smile. “Like ya know, instead of a man cave, it’s just a den.”

“Gotcha.” Ray unbuckles his seat-belt. “So…is everyone here?” He follows Michael out of the car.

“Hm, let’s go find out.” Michael leads Ray up to the small house.

It has a basement, a main floor, and a small upstairs, Michael tells Ray. Which sounds like a lot, but really…it’s small. Each room is comfortable enough for a few people to hang out in. It somehow feels _less_ crowded in the Achievement Hunter office.

But yeah, everyone is here, standing around in the living room. The atmosphere is different than it is at work. There’s no tension in the air at all, no one is constantly cracking lame jokes. All curtains are down it seems, and when Michael and Ray enter the home, no one whoops or greets Michael verbally. They all just exchange this sort of eye contact, which again, seems intimate and Ray looks away from them as they regard Michael.

Unlike Michael, Ray _does_ gets verbal greetings and a bit of whooping. Gavin shouts ‘X-Ray!’ and nearly tackles him with a fond hug. Geoff ruffles his hair and Jack pats his back. Ryan only nods. And then, there’s Joel.

Joel doesn’t greet Ray, but watches him interact with the others. When Ray’s eyes float to Joel’s, Joel tilts his head to the side slightly, then turns towards the back of the house.

“Too cramped in here.” Joel says, then nods to the backdoor. “Outside.”

“We have to spend time _outside_?” Ray again is sounding whinier than he wants to. He scolds himself for not staying home where no one expects him to go outside and he can stay inside his apartment where there’s AC and WiFi and hope.

“You don’t have to,” Gavin says with a shrug. “But, I think you’ll prefer it as opposed to staying in on your lonesome.”

Ray hated the fact that Gavin was right. This house has no AC, and the TV looks older than Ray and he doubts it has cable. If there’s a game system here, it must be hidden away or invisible. With a sigh, Ray shrugs his own shoulders and follows everyone outside. He’s not prepared for what he sees when he goes out there.

~*~

He’s used to Gavin and Geoff roughhousing in the small office. Ray is used to things getting knocked off shelves, and Gavin squawking as his knee hits a desk, or his elbow hits a wall. Again, Ray is used to Geoff and Gavin’s antics. He’s even more so used to seeing _Michael_ and Gavin falling all over the floor and having a bit of a playful scuffle. But…it’s never...

Never Jack.

Jack was the rock of the office, in more than one way. He usually helped to keep the nonsense to a (nonsensical) low. Jack was the one who made sure that everyone took their lunch breaks and told them to go home if they were sick.

But, Jack was also the rock because, well…he’s pretty sedentary. He never roughhouses in the office, and if everyone is running around the building during some of the live-action recordings, Jack just chuckles and watches.

And, for those reasons, Ray is _floored_ when he Jack whizzes past as a blur while _chasing_ Geoff. Gavin is perched a bit unnaturally on the picnic table, he sitting like an owl on a branch, ‘squatting’ is the closest term for it that Ray can think of. But, anyway, enough about Gavin’s weird sitting biz because Jack is _running_. Jack’s running faster than Ray’s ever seen almost anyone run. Gavin is watching the chase go down with his green eyes focused, and he’s leaning forward from his perch like he’s about to take off and join at any second.

Michael too is watching the chase closely, his eyes following Geoff and Jack’s quick movements and he’s smirking. Joel isn’t watching Jack and Geoff, when Ray looks over, Joel is watching _him_ again. Ugh, it’s starting to get pretty creepy actually. Ray feels like an animal in the zoo that Joel has come to see. Ray is sort of waiting for Joel to throw peanuts at him or something.

Ryan also surprises Ray, because…while Ryan will sometimes rough house and run around with Gavin in the office, Ryan isn't like... _extreme_ about the playing. Which is why Ray nearly dies when Ryan come fleeing from the house shirtless and barefoot and joins Jack in the pursuit of chasing Geoff.

“Okay,” Ray finally says something. “What the fuck is going on?”

Michael turns his head and shows a toothy grin to Ray. “It’s playtime!” He jostles Ray’s shoulder, and then like Ryan, Michael sheds his shirt, but leaves his shoes on.

 _Dear Diary,_ Ray thought to himself. _Today I watched my coworkers get half naked and frolic in the grass together. I discovered a few things: Jack is secretly athletic as fuck. Gavin sits like Batman. Michael is being cheerful. And Joel won’t stop staring at me._

~*~

By the time that ‘playtime’ ended, all of the AH members (apart from Ray) were muddy, shirtless, barefoot and sweaty. Joel didn’t join in for playtime, he sat on the picnic table and watched them (instead of just watching Ray the whole time. Which, Ray was glad about).

Michael swears that Joel joins in with them sometimes. And, _that_ , Ray really can’t imagine. Joel is a sleepy looking guy, and Ray can’t imagine him running and playing – or shirtless. But, Ray literally saw Jack ‘Taco’ Pattillo _sprinting_ today, so anything is apparently possible.

 _Dear Diary_ , Ray thinks as he’s watching his coworkers hose off in the backyard of the Den before they all packed into their respective cars. _My mother was right. Some people are meant to discover things. And, I, Ray Narvaez Jr, have discovered that my coworkers are a bit…different, to say the least_.

And, that really was saying the least. Because, Ray hasn’t even discovered half of what his coworkers are really like. Not even half.

~*~

At work the following day, it was like nothing even happened. Everyone was back to their ‘normal’ selves. Gavin stopped perching, Jack was sitting on his buns all day, no one was shirtless. Happy Wednesday, everyone. Normal.

During lunch on Wednesday, Ray just had to ask.

“So,” Ray said as soon as Michael sat across from him at the table in the staff kitchen.

“Hm?” Michael already has nearly half his sandwich in his mouth before his butt even touched the chair.

“Do you guys…?” Ray hesitates. “Go to the Den, often?”

“Oh,” Michael swallows the food in his mouth, but somehow still sounds like he’s talking with his mouth full. “Honestly, not as often as we’d like. Why?”

“Just, I dunno.” Ray shrugs. “I was just thinking about how… _wild_ last night was.”

“Was that ‘wild’?” Michael snorts then takes another huge bite of his food.

“Jack was _running_. Does he always run when you guys go out there?”

“Not always, we don’t always do that.”

“What else do you guys do?”

Michael’s demeanor shifts, but it only happens for a second before his expression evens back out into what it was before. He smiles kindly at Ray. “Just hang out and stuff.”

Ray can tell there’s more to it than that. But, he doesn’t ask.

“Alright, cool.”

_____________________________

 

Another year passes, and Ray’s been at Rooster Teeth for a year and six months. He hasn’t discovered anything new really. He’s accompanied everyone to the Den a few times since the first time. About five times, and each time he went, he was still taken aback at the atmosphere there. He felt vulnerable, but not in a threatening way. It just feels like everyone is open and that it’s alright.

He sees everyone _feel_ there one time or another. Everyone but Joel, who stays neutral unless someone else is upset. If someone is upset, then Joel lets himself care for them in whatever way and he shows sympathy or empathy.

Once, Gavin had a really bad date…really bad. The guy he’d gone on a date with had gotten upset when Gavin refused to go home with the dude. The guy retaliated by calling Gavin stupid, pathetic, and a slue of other horrid things. Joel snarled and told Gavin how wrong the guy was and Gavin moved to bury his face in Joel’s chest and let himself cry there. Joel wrapped an arm around Gavin and spoke into his hair.

Ray felt the urge to look away again, because this was intimate. But, Ray couldn’t look away at the unguarded expression of emotions. Joel only had one arm around Gavin, and Ray hadn’t thought much about it until Michael moved into the open space, resting his head into the space between Gavin’s shoulder and neck, Joel’s other arm came around Michael. Jack and Geoff were next, Geoff held Gavin tight and Jack rubbed Gavin’s back. Ray was again surprised when Ryan joined the huddle.

They all stay like that, woven together like pretty threads. And...Ray feels lonely. He doesn’t really think he’s allowed to join the group hug, he doesn’t even know if he wants to.

Jack picks his head up. “Ray, come here, please? I think Gavin would like it if he had you too.”

 _Had me?_ Ray thinks, but doesn’t argue. Joel looks up when Ray walks over, then Joel rests chin atop Gavin’s head again. Ray can still hear Gavin’s sniffle every once in a while as he crosses the room.

 _How do I fit in here? There’s six of them, I’m the odd one out. I’m not a part of what this is here._ Ray stood awkwardly outside the huddle until Jack disengaged from the huddle himself.

“Here, Ray.” Jack took Ray’s arm and ushered him closer, then guided Ray in.

No one seemed bothered when Jack nudged Ryan and Geoff out of the way to weave Ray in so he was behind Gavin, and comfortably fit between Ryan and Gavin’s bodies. Then, the hug knit together again, with Ray towards the center of it.

It should be weird, right? Anyone else would feel trapped in the mass of all of these men enclosed around each other, in the emotionally charged silence. Joel was still murmuring things to Gavin, that for some reason, as close as they all were physically, Ray felt like he was too far away to hear. Other than that, the only sounds were of fabric hissing against fabric when someone would move. There was another sound too, a deep rumble. It almost sounded like a hum, but more gravely than anything. Ray couldn’t tell which of them was making the sound, but it had the same effect as white noise. It had a calming effect, filling all of the empty space in the room and keeping tension from building.

Ray found it easy to close his eyes and lose himself in the body heat and the constant purring hum. When Ray opened his eyes again, it was because there was a sudden cold air against his back, Ryan had moved away. Then eventually, Geoff too, and Jack. Michael and Joel remained with Gavin, but Ray was still cold because he was no longer surrounded.

Joel rubbed his cheek over the top of Gavin’s head then let him go, bringing his eyes to Ray again. “Thanks for that, Ray.” Joel says, keeping eye contact with Ray. That’s when Ray realizes that he’s still pressed flush against Gavin. But, Ray doesn’t move away for some reason. He only nods at Joel and closes his eyes again.

Ray doesn’t see when Michael rubs his face against Gavin’s, then playfully nips at the Brit’s shoulder. This act isn’t at all _sexual_. Michael keeps nipping at Gavin until the Brit laughs and pushes him away. And then, it’s just Ray and Gavin.

“X-Ray,” Gavin turns around, laughs lightly when Ray stumbles at the sudden loss of support. “Like Joel said, thank you.” He looks around at the dispersed others. “As you can see…this is a family here.” He motions to the others.

 _But what kind?_ Ray thinks, but doesn’t say. He smiles at Gavin. “It’s a nice family.”

“I know.” Gavin says, then he dashes off to pester the rest of the guys. Back to normal once again.

 _It’s a nice family_ , Ray thinks. _I wonder if I could be a part of it._

~*~ 

That incident with Gavin wasn’t the only emotionally charged day that Ray had witnessed at the Den. Something similar happened when Geoff’s father passed away. Geoff says that he and his paternal father didn’t really get along, but having the man gone – really gone – just felt draining. Unlike the day with Gavin, they didn’t all stand in a huddle. Instead, they piled up on the sectional sofa. Jack guided Ray in again like last time, and they all fell asleep there. Ray was still groggy when Michael drove them back to their apartment complex.

Another time was when Michael was just at his limit. Sometimes Michael fizzles out and needs to release. Once, Michael wanted to roughhouse – hard. Gavin shook his head and sat on the sofa. Jack too shook his head. Geoff was about to go out there, but Joel put his hand on Geoff’s shoulder to stop him.

Joel took off his hoodie, then the shirt beneath. He toed off his shoes and socks then said ‘Come on, Michael’. Then, they were gone. Everyone else went back to puttering around the little house, chatting and talking. Ray wondered why everyone was being so avoidant of Michael. He’d seen them all tackling each other and rolling around over sticks and rocks and hard earth and mud. What’s worse than that? When no one was paying attention to him, Ray went to the rear window and pulled the blinds back to peek out.

He saw Michael standing with his hands on his knees and he was leaning forward, he looked like he was about to vomit, but he didn’t. Even from across the yard, and through the closed window, Ray could hear the loud growl that Michael produced. It was almost inhuman, with how loud it got and how…(okay, this is going to sound lame) but with how _ferocious_ it was. Ray backed away from the window reflexively startled by Michael’s roar, bumping into Gavin who was standing close by. When had Gavin gotten there?

“He’ll be fine.” Gavin assured Ray.

Ray still had the blind pulled back, and he saw Joel come charging at Michael. Michael put his hands out in front of him and it seemed he used no effort at all, but suddenly Joel’s legs were in the air and Joel was being slammed to the ground. Ray closed his eyes when Joel impacted the ground spine first.

It took Joel only seconds before he was up on his feet again. Then, Joel was growling back at Michael, even louder, even fiercer in its tone.

Ray drummed his fingers at his side nervously.

“This isn’t normal.” Ray let the blind fall closed. “There’s something going on here isn’t th-“ Ray turned to face Gavin, but he was gone. Ray hadn’t even heard him walk away.

Ray frowned. **_What have I discovered here?_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this first bit. The action really begins in the next chapter, that's when we'll see the wolves appear -- fur and claws and all. So, stay tuned. I'll be posting chapter two this weekend. 
> 
> Thanks <3
> 
> Also, I'd like to add that Gavin is softer in this fic than he usually might be because he is the lowest ranking member of the pack -- which isn't a bad thing, it just means that he just needs more attention and reassurance than the others. The other's wolves and their places/behaviors in the pack will be more demonstrated later on as well. PS, the pack acts very intimately with each other because that's how packs work. To Ray, it will seem odd until he understands.


	2. Big Dog, Huge Dog, Giant Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, let’s break this down. There has to be some logical point to this… clearly, Ray is imagining things. Maybe on the way to the Den, Ray got into an accident and is now in a coma and this is just his coma dream. Or, maybe….okay, that is the only logical explanation he’s got. Because, there aren’t many different things he could come up with to explain this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey! 
> 
> As promised, here is another chapter! Meet the wolves, everyone. This chapter does include a little bit of a bloody scene, but nothing gore-like. 
> 
> The word in bold in this chapter, "were", refers to the wolf that lives inside the werewolves. That'll be explained more in maybe the next chapter, if not, the chapter afterwords. It's pronounced like "wear" or "ware" by the way.
> 
> Also, some of the behavior the wolves display in this chapter are based off of real wolf behavior -- especially the mouth bites (you'll see). 
> 
> This chapter is 6.5k+ words.  
> Okay, that's it! <3  
> I'll try to get another chapter out next week. 
> 
> And As Always,  
> Thanks for Reading!  
> ~ThatMavin

Ray’s second year at Rooster Teeth came six months after he saw the fight between Michael and Joel. He hadn’t been back to the Den since then. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go, he actually wanted to go more than ever. He wanted to feel the close atmosphere, he wanted to see them interact in whatever ways that they do. Ray wanted to pretend to be a part of that unique family again.

He was going to ask Michael if he wouldn’t mind driving Ray there today, but something was…off. Michael wasn’t here. Gavin wasn’t here, which sometimes he just wasn’t. But, _Geoff_ wasn’t here. Ryan wasn’t here, that was certainly a red flag. Ryan had to drive the farthest and he still usually _always_ made it. Jack not being here, like Gavin, was sometimes just the case. But, Ray was never the _only_ AH member in the office. Something was up. Maybe they were all in another part of the building.

Ray walked around 636, peeking his head into offices, asking if anyone has seen the AH guys. Gus hasn’t seen them, Matt Hullum hasn’t seen them either. Jon Risinger says ‘nope’, Barb says ‘uh-uh’.

Ashley tells Ray to ask Burnie, so he does.

“Have you seen any of the AH guys?” Ray asks after he knocks on the door and Burnie tells him to come in. Burnie stops mid twirl on the pencil he’s holding.

“You’re…saying that _none_ of them are here?” Burnie chews the inside of his cheek.

“It’s just me.” Ray shrugs and sits down in one of the seats in front of Burnie’s desk. “And it’s never just me.”

“What about Joel?”

“Huh?”

“Joel is-“ Burnie stops himself, then clears his throat. “Joel is…he’s….well,” He tries again. “Joel is good at keeping tabs on the other guys, right? Give him an ask.”

Ray watches Burnie stumble all over the sentence. “Okay…?” He stands up slowly from the desk.

“If Joel isn’t there…then we’ll just see about tomorrow.” Burnie clears his throat again. “The AH folks are close, maybe they all caught the same bug. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, kiddo.”

 _Wouldn’t I have it too?_ Ray wonders. _Then again, I’m not as close as they are to each other_. Ray feels a bit disappointed at that realization.  

“Right, okay.” Ray nods, then exits Burnie’s office in search of Joel.

Ray can’t say he’s surprised when Adam Ellis only raises and lowers his shoulders when Ray comes in and says ‘Joel isn’t here, is he?’.

~*~

The RT headquarters are in walking distance to the employee residency where Michael and Ray live and…though Ray doesn’t prefer to drive, he _does_ own a car. It mostly just sits and stares at the apartment building while Ray is gone. Ray likes to pretend that the car is keeping watch over the apartment while Ray is away. That’s why he’s affectionately nicknamed the car ‘Watchdog’.

Ray really should’ve – well, _could’ve_ stayed at 636 all day, and came to work tomorrow to see if the guys were going to show up. As Burnie had suggested. But, not only did Ray have little to nothing to do in the empty office, but he also had a nagging feeling that maybe something was wrong.

~*~

Watchdog was an old car with a few quirks…like not starting up sometimes. What a kidder.

But, this time the vehicle took Ray all the way from his apartment complex to the Den without missing a beat. So, Ray was grateful for the jalopy.

Other than Ray being surprised that Watchdog made the whole trip without clunking out, Ray was also surprised that he drove all the way to the Den without getting lost. The long roads had started to look the same at some point. But, Ray remembers that the Den is located where the forest is almost at its densest, so Ray just followed the trees until they grew thick and then, bam. The Den.

Everyone’s cars were parked out front, even Ryan’s. Why would they all be at the Den if they were sick? Ray doubts that Ryan would drive all the damn way from his town just to be sick with everyone else. So, maybe they were just playing hookie.

No one has invited Ray to the Den in _forever_ , so maybe they were all just hogging the place to themselves. Rude.

“You guys,” Ray mumbles to himself as he gets out of his car. He walks up the paved path to the small house. “I highly doubt you’re all sick. If there’s some emotional shit going on, or if you all need some rougher roughhousing, you didn’t have to keep me out. I don’t mind all of the-“ He opens the front door, which is never locked, steps inside and wrinkles his nose. “Ugh…” The air inside was heavy with the smell of wet dog. “You guys get a pet for the den or something? Give it a fucking bath and maybe dry it off this time…”

After he closes the front door, Ray heard a sharp animalistic whine. It came from another part of the house. The sound was similar to that which would be made by a dog. So, Ray assumed that’s where the damp smell was coming from as well. But, the dog sounded like it was in pain and, Ray didn’t like that.

“You guys?” Ray asks, walking around the house. He peeked out the back window as he made his way through the DEN. No one in the back. “All your cars are here, sooooo…you should all be here, right?”

Another soft whine, this one longer and lower. This animal was really in pain.

“Hello? You guys…your dog sounds like it’s literally dying.” Ray says, then he worries that maybe they left the dog here on its own for a while. Ray hasn’t been to the Den in a long time, maybe they haven’t been here either. “You guys didn’t abandon a _living thing_ here, right? You know you can go to jail for that!” Ray calls out to the seemingly empty house. “And, that is just fucked up if you did. Ryan, you have loads of dogs, you wouldn’t just leave one to suffer in this fucking shed of a house, right? Same goes for you, Jack.”

Ray follows the sound of the whines down the hall towards the back of the house. There’s a bathroom back here. And, it makes sense. If they _did_ leave a dog in here, the bathroom would be where it’d be able to at least have water.

“Hey, doggy.” Ray says as he nears the bathroom. “You in here, buddy? Did those big mean assholes leave you to-“ Ray stops talking when he gets right outside the bathroom door. There’s blood, lots of it. Ray fights his gag reflex, not that the sight of blood makes him feel sick. But there’s just so much of it, it turns his stomach. “Holy _shit_ , what the fuck?” He breathes through his mouth.

It’s one thing if the dog is hungry, but… _this_.

“Please don’t be the dog’s blood, please don’t be the dog’s blood…” Ray pushes the bathroom door the rest of the way open. His eyes widen at what he sees.

~*~

“Big dog…huge dog…giant dog…” Ray stammers when the door slides the rest of the way open. There’s a giant dog in the bathtub, it barely _fits_ in the damn thing. The facial structure of the dog, and the form of it’s body actually don’t look much like a dog’s...a wolf’s maybe. “Okay, big  _wolf_.”

The wolf has dark auburn fur, so the blood doesn’t stand out against its body _that_ much. But, the fur is wet and matted where the blood is heaviest. So, Ray can tell where it’s wounded. And, it’s hurt in several places. Ray isn’t sure if he should be freaked out that the wolf is huge, or that it’s bleeding like hell.

He’ll worry that it’s bleeding first, because while it’s _big_ , it isn’t like…the size of a monster truck or anything. It’s bigger than a normal wolf, a bit more like a horse. But, holy shit, it’s bigger than a normal wolf.

The animal reacts to Ray’s presence, only slightly. Its ears prick at the sound of Ray entering the bathroom and it tries to raise its head. But, it’s weak and it stops trying, emitting another pathetic whine.

“What happened to _you_?” Ray asks softly, stepping over the crimson on the bathroom tiles. "You’re a big guy, it’s not like anything could take you down easy. What, were you hit by a truck or something? Why are you in these guys’ house? Are you their pet or something?”

The wolf only whines. Ray reaches forward to pet the unmatted fur, the animal snuffles.

“Holy shit, holy shit…” Ray can’t believe that this thing is real. Is it real?

“ _No, no, no!! Stop!! It’s not anyone’s fault!”_ Gavin’s voice comes from outside. Ray can hear it over the silence of the small house. _“Especially not Joel’s! Geoff, stop!!”_

 _“Fuck you, Joel! What is wrong with you?! How could you do that?!”_ Geoff’s voice responds.

Ray glances at the wolf. “I’ll be right back, don’t go anywhere.” Ray gives it a final pat, dancing around the blood on the tiles once again and he jogs to the back door.

“Stop it!” Gavin’s voice is louder the closer Ray gets to the door. Then, there’s the sound of growling – loud and completely animalistic. More than one creature growling, that’s for sure. “No!” The final shout Gavin gives is shrill. “Jack do something, please! Stop them!”

Ray swings open the backdoor just in time to see….wolves.

More wolves, three wolves. One is brown…dark brown, with white on its underbelly. It’s bigger than the wolf Ray had seen in the tub. Angrier looking too, it’s snarling at an even _larger_ wolf.

The biggest wolf is completely jet black, though the tips of its ears are slightly greyed. The largest wolf is gnashing its teeth at the dark-brown wolf. And, a bit further back, there is another wolf, about the size of the dark-brown one. Its ears are down, its body is covered in deep red fur. It reminds Ray of a fox’s fur.

Black wolf, dark-brown wolf, deep red wolf. Not to mention the auburn wolf in the bathroom. So many wolves.

And apart from the wolves outside, Gavin is standing there…naked. _Dear god, nothing is normal here?_ Gavin is naked and screaming, and there are heat waves coming off of his body. Mid-scream, Gavin’s voice distorts into a gravelly rumble and Ray literally watches Gavin’s body unseam itself then in a flash…he becomes this…creature, a wolf. Like the others. Gavin becomes a wolf with crème colored fur. Then, there is nothing but barking.

Ray’s jaw is hanging open, and no one has noticed him yet – or acknowledged him at least.

 _Dear Diary,_ Ray thinks. _I have just discovered something else._

~*~

With no choice, and no idea what to do…Ray stands and stares. These are his friends. These _wolves_. They’re…no.

Okay, let’s break this down. There has to be some logical point to this… _clearly_ , Ray is imagining things. Maybe on the way to the Den, Ray got into an accident and is now in a coma and this is just his coma dream. Or, maybe….okay, that is the only logical explanation he’s got. Because, there aren’t many different things he could come up with to explain _this_.

Ray’s brought from his thoughts by another wolf joining the fray. A light honey-gold colored wolf. He’s bigger than Gavin, about the size of the dark-brown and red ones. Gavin is the smallest out of the others.

The honey colored wolf is barking at the two that are snarling at each other. And, against his better judgement, Ray steps onto the grass of the backyard and out of the house. He feels himself stepping closer and closer. When he’s a safe distance away, but close enough to be acknowledged, Ray takes a deep breath.

“I don’t know who is who, but for god’s sake!” Ray shouts. “There is someone _dying_ in the bathroom, I think! Why are you all out here fighting and not helping!”

And that’s when the largest wolf turns sharply to Ray, caught off guard, and hits Ray – hard – with one large paw. Ray hits the ground and then the world goes quiet.

~*~

“Wow, Joel!” Geoff’s voice comes across way too loud to Ray’s sore head. “Two victims in one day! Are you trying to kill the whole fucking pack or is this just how you plan to assert your dominance as the alpha?? Trying to instill some fear into us??”

“I told you fifty fucking times, Ramsey!” Joel’s voice comes next. “I didn’t mean to hurt Ray! I didn’t mean to hurt Michael, either! Something is wrong with me – I don’t know what but-“

“I’ll fucking say!” Geoff’s voice again. “You’re out of control! You’ve been lashing out on _all_ of us! That’s the opposite of what you’re _supposed_ to do. How can you run this pack if you can’t take care of us!”

Joel’s voice doesn’t come back again, but there’s the sound of loud thudding footsteps, the backdoor opening, the sound of a growl and then heavy feet running across the grass. Ray grumbles, he feels nauseous, he can’t open his eyes.

“Ray?” Jack’s voice.

“Oh, thank god…he’s awake.” Gavin’s voice.

“M’head feels like an asshole.” Ray replies, groaning as he feels the nausea worsening.

“If you’re feeling ill, you shouldn’t try to fight it.” Jack sounds apologetic. “Can you sit up?”

“No, please. Don’t make me move.” Ray grimaces.

“Are…you okay?” Gavin asks.

“Th’fuck do y’think?” Ray mumbles, then feels something pressing to his face. It’s someone’s hand. Its palm is slightly rough, large. He can’t tell whose hand it is, he doesn’t care really. It’s not Gavin or Michael’s.

“Ray,” Jack’s voice. “Did…do you remember what happened?”

“Got my ass beat by wolverine or some shit.” Ray responds. “There were wolves and shit. Did you see em? They were _huge_.”

Gavin and Jack exchange brief eye contact.

“What do you remember about the wolves?” Jack asks.

“Well,” Ray says. “Wolves were fighting. Gavin was naked.”

“Oh.” Jack’s brow furrows and he looks up at Gavin who’s blushing.

‘What do we tell him?’ Gavin mouths silently to Jack.

Jack shrugs. “He’ll probably start to remember after some time. Let’s just leave him be.” Jack whispers, not that Ray is listening. He’s too busy groaning.

Ray’s world goes dark for the second time not long after that.

~*~

When Ray blacks out for the second time, Jack leaves him so he can do tend to Michael while Gavin keeps watch over Ray. Michael is wounded and still in the bathroom, Ryan’s in there with him. Joel is gone, no one knows where to. Geoff is hidden away in the upstairs bedroom.

What happened today with Joel was less than ideal, but Jack doesn’t blame him. Something _is_ wrong with Joel, the alpha even smells different. Joel smells like static, and it smells wrong. Maybe only Jack can smell the staticy scent because he is this pack’s sentient. Still, he hopes he isn’t the only one who feels bad for Joel. And, he really wants to keep the peace.

Jack opens the bathroom door to find Michael is back into his skin, which is to say that he’s in his human form. Michael is sitting on the closed toilet lid. He looks up at Jack when he sees the man walk in.

“I couldn’t…I couldn’t ch-change back.” Michael shakes his head. “When I heard Ray come into the Den, I tried to get out of my fur. But, my body was so wounded, and it knows to heal faster in my other form.”

“I know, I know.” Jack closes the bathroom door behind them. Ryan is kneeling in front of Michael, finishing wrapping the bandage around Michael’s waist. Jack leans down to press his nose into Michael’s curls. He smells of copper, sweat and dirt. He smells like a battleground. “You did well, you did what your instincts told you and that’s just fine.”

“It was so scary though, I couldn’t change and…I felt trapped in my fur and-“ Michael stops rambling when he feels Jack bow his head down to bite gently at the corner of Michael’s mouth. Michael goes lax against Jack. “Okay.” Is Michael’s response. “…Thank you.”

The action of Jack nipping at Michael’s mouth is a confirmation, a sign of one’s belonging in a pack. By biting at Michael’s mouth, Jack has not only confirmed Michael’s place in the pack, but has non-verbally shown Michael that he accepts him – all of him. It’s an instinctual behavior. The wolves all do it to each other when they need reassurance. However, they also pass their mouths over one anothers’ in order to express platonic affection. Wolves are more intimately affectionate than most humans.

“How are you feeling?” Jack asks Michael.

“My arm is almost all the way healed,” Michael answers, moving the limb slowly. “I think my guts will be in order by tomorrow.” He chuckles, but Jack doesn’t crack a smile. “Joel didn’t mean it.”

“I know,” Jack says. “But, I’m worried about him.”

“Did you notice that he was more and more aggressive the less he saw Ray?” Ryan poses the question, and Michael and Jack stare at Ryan like they don’t believe him. “It’s true, Joel was calmest whenever Ray came around to the Den, or when Ray’s scent would linger around here. Something weird happened when Ray stopped coming around.”

“I think it’s coincidence.” Michael shrugs, then winces at his sore arm. “Joel started behaving strangely not too long after Ray’s last visit here. Ray’s scent was still around at that time.”

“It’s…just a theory.” Ryan rises to his feet.

“A good one, but still…” Michael stands up as well. “I’m gonna go lay down with Geoff, I feel like shit.”

“Alright.” Ryan leans forward and rubs his forehead against Michael’s before leaving the restroom and heading into the living room.

Michael looks up at Jack. “How’s Ray?” His brow furrows.

“Disoriented as hell.” Jack sighs. “Joel knocked him pretty hard. I don’t know if Ray remembers anything he saw – or will believe any of it if or when he _does_ remember it.”

“Do we... _want_ him to remember it?” Michael asks. “We’ve kept the secret from him for two years, and I’ve kept it even longer -- I met him way before you guys did.”

Jack hesitates. “Joel is the alpha, he makes those sort of decisions.”

“Well, he’s not fucking here.” Michael points out. “Ray’s going to likely wake up again before Joel gets back. We need to tell him _something_. He’s going to ask why his head is fucked up.”

“I know.”

“What do we do? If Joel doesn’t come back, what do we do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Would Geoff be in charge?” Michael’s brow knits.

“…Actually, _you_ might.” Jack says.

“What?”

“When Joel went ballistic, you stood him down. That’s why Joel attacked you first.” Jack states. “Your instincts told you to stand to an alpha. I think that means you would be the next strongest wolf. The best fit to be alpha.”

“But…Geoff is…my superior.”

“That’s because of the current pack dynamics,” Jack explains. “Your instincts tell you that your elders are superior to you. But, when it comes to who is to be alpha, age isn’t everything.”

“Joel never wanted to be our pack leader."

“You know he didn’t _want_ to be at first.” Jack pets Michael’s curls. “He got into the swing of things pretty quickly after the others arrived. Before at the office, it was just Joel, Geoff and I. Not much of a pack. We all sort of coexisted as a similar species, but not as a pack. It wasn’t until you and Gavin came along that things started feeling like a pack.”

Michael nods. “That’s when Joel stepped up.”

“That’s when Geoff _backed down_.” Jack corrects. “When our instincts to form a pack took over, Geoff and Joel were head to head. You were almost contending, but when Joel challenged you, you submitted and backed down. Geoff did the same.” Jack pauses. “And, well…Joel didn’t want to challenge either of you. He didn’t want to become the alpha, but the wolf inside of Joel is so strong…it took over him when the time came.”

“Joel didn’t want a pack.” Michael says, and Jack nods.

“Joel’s last pack…” Jack frowns angrily remembering the stories Joel had told him. “His last pack was fucked up, completely just fucked up. Their dynamics were broken and they didn’t treat each other…” Jack shakes his head. “It wasn’t a family. Joel isn’t used to interacting with a pack in the ways that we do. But, he’s learning.”

“That’s why he stands to the side all the time.” Michael sighs. “I know he’s getting more into being close to us and everything, and I feel like such a whiny asshole for saying it…but when the alpha doesn’t scent us regularly or…interact with us, it makes my wolf feel kind of…”

“Abandoned? Shunned?”

Michael sighs. “It’s so dumb but-“

“It’s not dumb, it’s your instincts.” Jack pats Michael’s shoulder, then apologizes when Michael grimaces as his injured arm is touched again. “Let’s make some food. I’m sure everyone is hungry.”

“I’m still gonna lay down with Geoff.” Michael says. “But…I’ll come down for food.”

Jack laughs and rolls his eyes. “Of course you will.”

~*~

“Heeeeey, sleepyhead.” Gavin’s accent is even more drawled out than usual.

“I don’t want whatever you’re selling.” Ray waves a hand in Gavin’s direction. “Everyone keeps waking me up.”

“Jack says I need to wake you and make sure you have water.” Gavin explains. “Really, he says you’re concussed and shouldn’t be sleeping anyway, but…ya know.” He sits close to Ray and holds out a glass of water. Ray’s eyes open slowly.

It’s dark in the room, but Ray can clearly see that Gavin’s wearing clothes again.

“Last time I saw you,” Ray says groggily. “Your wang was hanging out.”

“How many bloody times are you going to bring that up!” Gavin groans embarrassedly, and thrusts the water at Ray until he takes it. “It’s not like I had a choice, anyway. If I wasn’t naked them my clothes would-“ He stops before he can say too much. He isn’t sure what he’s allowed to say at this point.

“Would what?”

“Look,” Gavin sighs. “You’ll find out when you’re older.” Gavin lays down and puts his head in Ray’s lap. “I miss Joel.”

Ray was about to bring the glass of water to his lips, but he stops at Joel’s name.

“Where is he?” Ray asks, finding it odd that Joel isn’t lurking around here and staring at him like he usually is. He doesn’t remember Joel hitting him and knocking him to the ground. Ray doesn’t remember that it was Joel who’d done it anyway.

“We don’t know.” Gavin admits, glad that Ray doesn’t ask any other questions. He’s also glad that Ray doesn’t protest that Gavin is laying on his lap. The pack has eaten dinner already, and afterwards dispersed.

Jack and Ryan needed to go back to their homes for a while, but will return in the morning. Michael and Geoff are upstairs in the bedroom nesting together, which just means that they’re rubbing their scents onto the bedding and planning to curl up and sleep in the scented bedding. It’s just something wolves do to ensure a good night’s sleep -- scenting the bedding gives a calming effect and makes them feel secure, safe.

Gavin has been left on ‘Ray Duty’ still, not that he minds. But, it’s just annoying that Gavin has to hold back his wolfie behavior, lest have Ray asking questions to things Gavin can’t answer. Gavin’s instincts are telling him to bury his face in Ray’s neck and whine about the lack of the alpha. He also feels the urge to nip Ray’s mouth, or to prompt Ray to do it to his own. Gavin’s feels drifty and unsure without the alpha and would like to feel his place in the pack confirmed and thus his worries assured.

Laying in Ray’s lap is nice, but it doesn’t soothe the troubled wolf. Gavin doesn’t want to wait until morning when the other two pack members are back. But, Gavin hopes he won’t feel as lonely then. He’s also bored and tired. Of course Ray would wake up at _bedtime_.

Gavin yawns into Ray’s belly. “You’re not going to…get up, are you?”

“You don’t have to stick around, if that’s what you’re getting at.” Ray says, shifting about so that Gavin is being slightly jostled, much to the Brit’s dismay. “Get off, I gotta pee.”

“No.” Gavin shakes his head and loops his arms around Ray’s waist. “I _just_ got comfortable. Drink your water, you didn’t have any.”

“Because I need to go to the fucking bathroom.”

“Well, drink your water and then you can go!” Gavin says sternly. “I mean it, Ray.”

Ray glares, but downs the glass in one go. “Can I be excused, _Dad_?”

“Ugh, fine.” Gavin says, not feeling like being alone right now. It’s uncomfortable and stressing for pack wolves to be alone for long. Especially pack wolves of Gavin's status. “Just hurry. If I’m gone when you get back, it’s because I fled upstairs.”

~~_Gavin Free did not flee whilst Ray Narvaez went to pee._ ~~

Instead, he texted Ryan. Well, Ryan had texted him first.

<<< **Ryan** : How’s Ray?

>>> **Gavin** : He’s fine. Thanks for asking how I am, btw.

<<< **Ryan** : How’s Gavvy?

>>> **Gavin** : lol, I’m fine Ry.

<<< **Ryan** : Good, I’m glad. But, is Ray really ‘fine’?

>>> **Gavin** : He’s awake, walking and talking. Just woke up.

<<< **Ryan** : Is he…asking questions?

>>> **Gavin** : None yet. Michael told me about what Jack said regarding the whole…alpha situation. He told me during dinner.

<<< **Ryan** : Do you think Michael will step up?

>>> **Gavin** : Technically, that’s up to Michael’s inner wolf.

>>> **Gavin** : Without the original alpha in place, Michael’s wolf might get the instinct to step up.

<<< **Ryan** : If that happens, Michael won’t be able to refuse his instincts, right?

>>> **Gavin** : Joel couldn’t resist his…and now he’s alpha.

<<< **Ryan** : Yeah…

>>> **Gavin** : Some alpha though, he abandoned us.

<<< **Ryan** : He didn’t.

>>> **Gavin** : Well he sure isn’t bloody here.

<<< **Ryan** : Get some sleep, maybe he’ll be there in the morning.

>>> **Gavin** : Maybe.

<<< **Ryan** : Goodnight, Gav.

>>> **Gavin** : Hey, Ry?

<<< **Ryan** : Yeah?

>>> **Gavin** : Ray is a part of our pack, right?

<<< **Ryan** : Officially? No. Otherwise? Yes.

>>> **Gavin** : My urge to pack-bond with him is so strong.

<<< **Ryan** : Same…I’m better at resisting than you, though.

>>> **Gavin** : Blah, blah, blah. My name is Ry and I’m so tough.

<<< **Ryan** : Goodnight, Gav.

>>> **Gavin** : I miss you, get back here early tomorrow. Night, Ryan.

~*~

Geoff woke up to a mouthful of red curls. He snuffled in surprise, but silenced as Michael began to stir beside him. Geoff buried his nose in Michael’s hair, then moved his nose into Michael’s neck. The younger man hummed contently and rolled onto his back, letting Geoff move over him.

Next, Michael felt Geoff’s nose move over the skin of his wounded arm. The limb is nearly done healing now, Michael can feel the tingling of the cells rapidly repairing themselves. Next, Michael feels Geoff’s tongue over the bend of Michael’s arm. It’s a worrying gesture, licking a pack member’s wound.

Michael huffs at him which sounds like a scoff to human ears. But, to wolves, it’s a confirming sound. It’s used often and for different reasons. Examples? _Let’s go hunt over here_ , one wolf suggests. The response is a breathy huff. _I’m hungry_ , says one wolf. The other huffs in agreement. In this instant, Michael huffs at Geoff to communicate that he acknowledges what Goeff is doing, and appreciates it.

“Good morning,” Michael says once Geoff stops worrying with his arm. He stretches, inhaling deeply. “Ryan is here.” He catches hints of Ryan’s scent in the air. “Jack too.”

“That’s good, we could use some reinforcements in case of…an emergency.” Geoff yawns and sits up, watching Michael get out of the bed. “Wanna go down?”

“We can’t just stay here – I can’t just stay here.” Michael is dressing himself now, quickly. “We need to follow Joel’s scent, and we need to remark our territory. Other passing wolves will be able to sense the lack of an alpha on our property. We’ll look weak unless our barriers are strong.”

“Mich-“

“They could try and to claim our land or our pack, Geoff.”

“We don’t know that.”

“Nor do we know otherwise.”

“But…” Geoff’s brow knits. “You should…take it easy, Michael. If your **were** gets too worked up, it might attempt to present itself as alpha. You don’t want that.”

Michael lets a low growl rumble its way from his chest. “But our pack is _vulnerable_ right now. I can’t stand it.” He looks away from Geoff. “And right now…I can’t stand Joel either. He fucking ran away like a little-“

Geoff startles Michael into silence with a shatteringly loud snarl. Michael silences for a moment, but doesn’t lose his glare. Geoff moves quickly over to Michael and takes the younger man’s jaw between his teeth in warning. “Know your place.” Geoff growls against Michael’s skin.

“You _know_ it’s fucking true! Geoff, he just-“

Another bite, this one over Michael’s mouth. “Never speak ill of your alpha, _stand_ down.”

Michael refuses. Geoff growls again, low and threatening. But, Michael still refuses to submit. The older male can feel heat forming under Michael’s skin, the younger’s **were** is becoming agitated from this interaction and wants to burst free of this human form.

Geoff and Michael stand together: Michael refusing to stand down, Geoff refusing to let Michael go. Geoff leaves a bite on Michael’s skin every so often, to remind the younger that he’s not yet been forgiven for speaking lowly of their absent alpha.

It takes minutes, maybe longer, but both Michael and Geoff can feel Michael’s **were** subsiding, the angry heat leaving Michael’s skin.

“Know your place.” Geoff says again, then nudges Michael’s chin his knuckles lightly. “Do you submit?”

Michael huffs: confirmation. He passes his mouth over Geoff’s: a sign of submission.

“I submit to you now out of respect, but I may _not_ submit to Joel.” Michael sounds a bit defeated now, less petulant. “I don’t want to be this pack’s alpha, but my **were** Is agitated.”

Geoff’s response is a soft bite over Michael’s mouth, not threatening or condescending anymore. Instead of demanding Michael to know his place, this bite means ‘you have a place’. Michael lets Geoff know that his reassurance is appreciated by brushing their lips together one more time, then stepping away from the older male.

“I know my place.” Michael stands there, panting a bit as his **were** continues to settle. “But like I said, I can’t sit around while Joel plays hookie. Why’d he even _run_?” Michael thinks to himself that Joel is a coward, a coward who ran away from their responsibilities. “Geoff, may I run the perimeter of our land to mark and scent our location?”

Geoff doesn’t want to let Michael go, but Michael needs to let his **were** run a bit. Get some of that tension out of its system. Michael needs it too.

Geoff eyes him. Michael’s mouth and jaw are red from Geoff’s bites. To humans, this would look almost obscene. To Geoff, Michael looks vulnerable, and Geoff’s instincts tell him to care for this younger member of the pack until Michael has fully settled again. But, Michael won’t stay in place, Geoff knows this.  

With a light huff, Geoff gives Michael permission to go and Michael is gone in the blink of an eye.

~*~

Ray is sitting on the sofa of the Den, just thinking. He doesn’t remember much about yesterday, which everyone seems to be glad about. Ray just remembers seeing blood in the bathroom. And, he thinks it must’ve been Michael’s. Because, on his way out of the house, Michael was stopped by Jack -- he was asking Michael is he was alright enough to go out. Ray doesn’t ask where Michael is going.

Everyone is pretty upset that Joel isn’t here. Is Joel supposed to be here, then? Everyone else is. Is Michael leaving to go look for Joel?

There’s a nervous energy in the Den that Ray isn’t used to. Everyone is far apart. Ryan and Jack are in the kitchen, talking with hushed voices. But, they aren’t nearly as close as they might usually be. Gavin is sitting at the kitchen table, averting his eyes to the Sudoku puzzle in the newspaper that Ryan had started, but abandoned to talk to Jack. Geoff hasn’t come downstairs yet.

Ray wonders if anyone knows he’s awake again. Or if anyone cares. He sort of wants to go home. Maybe come back here when his head doesn’t feel like shit and when everyone is calm and happy.

He remembers what happiness feels like in the Den. He remembers what happiness looks like on Joel. It’s rare, but it’s amazing.

Ray remembers a time when he came to the Den, and everyone was in a really good mood. Ray didn’t know why exactly that was, but it was so nice. He and Michael walked into the front door, and the atmosphere was like it usually is. Open and unguarded, but also alight with something soft and warm. This feeling made Ray even more desperate to be a part of this family, he could only imagine that it would feel even better if he wasn’t just on the outskirts.

He wondered if that’s how Joel felt. Because, Joel was usually on the outside too. But, when was happy that one day, Joel was very much a part of the family. And…Joel was smiling.

Ray was taken aback the first time he saw Joel smile, because it was full and fit his face so well. Joel’s smile was dimpled and genuine and he just looked…even more impossibly younger than he already looked. And, Joel’s laugh was just as great as his smile.

Ray is still sort of wary about Joel, but he understands Joel. Or so he feels, anyway. Because, Joel seemed to be struggling to fit in and be a part of this family. And, so was Ray. 

Maybe everyone was so worried about where Joel was, because he tied things together so well when he was around. Even if he was on the outside, it felt like an important presence. Joel _was_ the outside. He was the outer shell of the group. He surrounded them and kept them within the correct ring, and kept all else out. Maybe everyone felt a bit lost without him.

But, where could Joel be? Was he _missing_ or just busy? Everyone being so worried about him made Ray guess that maybe Joel was missing or something. Which…made Ray worry too. He didn’t know if he should ask or not. Something just didn’t feel right. Ray felt like he wasn’t supposed to ask that sort of thing. Like it wasn’t his business and it was his friends’ business instead. So, Ray stayed on the sofa to wait until someone wanted to tell him what was up…or something.

~*~

What ended up happening, was Ray was brought home by Michael after a while. Michael drove Ray’s car, Watchdog, back to their apartment complex while Ryan followed driving Michael’s car. Michael said that he and Ryan were going to go back to the Den after they dropped of Ray.

But, when Michael parked the car, neither he nor Ray got out of it.

“Just,” Ray starts, rubbing his hands over his face. “You’ve got to give me some credit, here.”

“…For what?” Michael turns the car off then hands Ray the keys.

“My head is fucked up, and I didn’t ask how it happened.” Ray says. “There’s something going on with Joel, that probably isn’t any of my business. And, I didn’t ask about that either.”

“…Alright.”

“So, give me some fucking credit.”

“I don’t understand what you fucking want credit for!” Michael barks, hands shaking. He’s getting angry already, but he’s uptight. It’s got nothing to do with Ray.

“I don’t really know either to be honest!” Ray exclaims. “Just…I dunno appreciate the fact that – I know something is going on here, with you all. And, I’m being patient about it.”

Michael doesn’t say anything right away. “Okay, well…thanks?”

“You’re welcome.” Ray pauses. “What happened to my head?”

“You fell.”

Ray stares blankly at Michael. “Off of…? Or because of what?”

“Because you’re clumsy as shit, I don’t know.” Michael moves to get out of the car.

“I know I’m clumsy!” Ray grabs Michael’s arm. “But, I’ve never fucking blacked myself out with a concussion. What’d I fall off of? The fucking roof!”

“Let me go!” Michael snatches his arm away. “You’ll be okay, just don’t fall again. Also, if Burnie asks, tell him we’re all fine.”

“Will you guys be at work tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why can’t you tell Burnie yourself?” Ray asks and Michael looks like he could punch Ray.

“I mean…Burnie might call you or something tonight.” Michael explains. “Just try not to worry him, alright? I gotta go.”

“Wait!” Ray grabs Michael’s arm again, but drops it because Michael’s skin is so hot. It wasn’t a moment ago. “…N-Never mind.”

“Good.” Michael’s voice sounds suddenly very rough. He moves out of Ray’s car quickly and gets into the awaiting one and drives off with Ryan back to the Den. Ray has half a mind to follow them back, but…Ray’s also got a whole mind concussion. So, he just goes upstairs to his apartment and crashes.

That night, Ray dreams of wolves. He also dreams of Gavin bursting out of his skin. Gavin doesn’t become a wolf, he just….fucking explodes into a million pieces of golden dust. He becomes the stars in the sky. Ray can’t decide if that’s homoerotic or not.

_____________________________

A week goes by. Everyone shows up to work but Joel.

Another week, same thing. Ray’s not been to the Den in two weeks. His head feels better. He still can’t remember what happened to it though.

A third week. Burnie looks anxious whenever Ray seems him.

A fourth week. Michael begins behaving more aggressively – towards everyone. Gavin is quiet now.

Fifth week. Ryan doesn’t show up to work at all this week.

Sixth week. Ryan shows up to work his bruises on his throat, they’re oddly gone by the end of the day.

Beginning of the seventh week, Ray has had enough. _Dear Diary_ , Ray thinks. _I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands_.

End of the seventh week, it turns out that Ray doesn’t have to take matters into his own hands. No one shows up to the AH office, but there’s a note on Ray’s desk. **_Need you, meet in parking lot. MJ_ **

“Either Michael Jackson is waiting to diddle me outside,” Ray deadpans. “Or things are about to get interesting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Also!  
> As said, Jack is the pack's sentient. He has a better sense of what the others or feeling, or if they're sick or injured, he has a better sense of where, why, or how to help. Jack can also keep the others calm, or ease their worries. He also likes to make sure everyone is rested and fed.


	3. Lengthen and Reform

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel is fighting his urge to shift, but it’s like trying to hold in a sneeze. You can only hold it in so long before your body convulses and you sneeze anyway. He hunches forward to try to fight it, heat ebbing off of him. He wants so badly to resist but…it happens. 
> 
> And, it happens quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello!
> 
> So, I avoided posting this chapter because I was embarrassed about it, tbh.  
> But, here it is! All 8.2K+ words of it, here ya go.
> 
> And As Always,  
> Thanks For Reading!  
> ~ThatMavin  
> (^_^)"/"

When Ray gets to the parking lot, Michael is pacing out by his car. Michael turns when he hears the door close behind Ray.

“Thank fuck! Took you long enough!” Michael throws his arms in the air. “What took you??”

“I just got to work.” Ray says blandly. “You could’ve stopped me before I went in. I mean, why the note on my desk? Are you trying to be mysterious or something? _Oh look at me, I’m Michael Jones! And when I’m not filming Rage Quit, I like to sit around and be Sherlock Holmes!_ ”

“Eat all of the shit in the entire world, Ray.” Michael would’ve laughed at what Ray said any other time, but Michael was short on time and short on patience. “Come with me.” He says and opens the passenger door of his car for Ray.

Ray stares at the opened door. “Right…so,” He walks to the car but doesn’t get in. “While I’m glad you’re being a gentleman and opening the car door for me, it doesn’t hide the fact that this is still unnecessarily mysterious. Is this supposed to be building suspense right now?”

“I swore to Ryan that I would bring you back in one fucking piece…” Michael says under his breath to himself more so than to Ray. “Get _in_.’

“Okay, okay.” Ray says, then waits until Michael is in the car too before he starts speaking again. “I’m just saying-“

“Oh my fucking god.”

“Okay, _okay_. I mean it this time.” Ray sighs. “I’ll be good.”

“And you’ll shut up?”

“For the most part.”

“…Ray.”

“Fine!” Ray settles back into the seat. “So, are we going to the Den?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Is it about Joel?”

“…Yes.”

“Am I allowed to ask questions?” Ray arches a brow.

“I hate to say this, but…yes.” Michael is gripping the wheel tightly. “We can’t afford to have you out of the loop anymore. You’re already too involved. We all sort of knew you would be – we hoped you would be.”

“I would be what?”

“One of us.”

“What do you mean?”

“A part of our family.” Michael answers. Ray watches the car move through the familiar areas that Ray travels through everyday. Soon, these areas will thin out until they reach the trails that Ray only knows from his trips to the Den. Michael has his eyes on the road as he turns the corner onto the first long empty road.

“Wait…” Ray is confused, but he hopes this mean what he thinks it means. “I get to…be a part of-“

“You already are.” Michael says. “We accepted you long ago. It’s just never been official. But, we’re hoping that making it official will fix this.”

“Fix what?”

“Fix Joel.”

“He’s…broken? Is that why he’s been away from work?”

“…Yes.”

“Burnie said Joel was away traveling.” Ray says.

“That’s not true.”

“I know it’s not.”

“How do you know?”

“Adam Ellis says that Joel hasn’t been answering his phone for the longest time.” Ray explains. “Just because he’s traveling doesn’t mean he’d be detached from everything and everyone.”

Michael doesn’t say anything for a while. “You observant prick.”

Ray flashes a smirk. “I’m not that dumb.”

“ _Well_ , now.” Michael jokes, he and Ray laugh.  

“So, now that I’m a 'part of the family',” Ray rubs his hands together. “Let me in on the family secrets.”

Michael presses his lips into a thin line. “Not yet.”

“But you said-“

“I’m in charge right now.” Michael cuts Ray off. "That doesn't really count as a secret, I don't think."

“In charge?”

“Okay,” Michael drums his fingers on the wheel. “Joel is usually in charge, but I’ve taken over.”

Ray processes that a bit. “Alright?”

“Joel was gone because – well, he _chose_ to be.”

“…Okay?”

“But we’re really close to finding him.” Michael says. “We just need your help.”

“What? Why me?”

“Joel likes you.”

Ray snorts. “What the hell makes you say that?”

“We kept thinking about how Joel acted when you were in the Den.” Michael shrugs. “He was different, a good different. His aura was just _good_.”

“His fucking _aura_?” Ray laughs again.

“It’s not funny! It’s true.” Michael shakes his head. “I dunno what the hell you did, or why _you_ but you…made something click for Joel. For all of us really. That’s why I say you’re 'unofficially' a part of the family. You brought everything together.”

“…What are you guys?” Ray looks out the window because he’d be too embarrassed to catch Michael’s eyes at this point.

“Do you have an idea?”

“I think it’s a cult.”

“Haven’t you said that before?” Michael slows the car down. This road is long and he doesn’t have to focus as much because there’s no traffic. And, he'd rather get this part of the conversation out of the way while they’re alone.

“Have I?” Ray shrugs. “Is it true?”

“No, we aren’t a cult.”

“Then…I don’t know.”

“What do you feel when you look at us?”

“Are you flirting with me?” Ray deadpans and Michael reaches over to swat him lightly.

“I’m being serious.”

“I don’t know!” Ray throws his hands up.

“Think about it!” Michael looks at Ray. “When you look at us – really look at us, what do you feel?”

Ray looks away from Michael again and thinks about it. He thinks about what it’s been like in the office. The atmosphere has been off lately. But, whenever Ray looks at any of them, he can just feel that there’s something more going on than it seems. Everything just feels-

“Unreal.” Ray says finally, shaking his head. “You all just seem so unreal, you seem…different than other people.”

Michael is pleased with what he hears, but also hesitant to build on it. But in order to do what they need to today, Michael needs to get this over with. He needs Ray to know.

“We are.” Michael says. “We are different than other people.”

“Aliens?”

Michael looks at Ray with an exhausted expression.

“I’m just trying to guess, here.” Ray tries to think. “Maybe you all are dating? And that’s all. Like, one of you guys pissed off Joel and he left and you’re all being crazy ex-boyfriends and trying to hunt him down.”

“…What the hell is wrong with you?”

“It’s honestly probably what it is. And that’s why you’re all so affectionate.”

“Affectionate?”

“The cuddling and snuggling?”

“Ray, why are we friends again?”

“Ohhh,” Ray looks smug. “Are you all trying to like ring me into your relationship? Like you guys wanna go out with me, so you’ve been slowly introducing me into the thing. But then, Joel’s all like ‘no, I won’t date you guys anymore if Ray won’t date us’ and then he stormed off.”

Michael doesn’t say anything. His eyes widen like something has caught him off guard. He's heard something. 

“That _has_ to be it!”

“Shut up, stop talking.” Michael says, rolling down his window. He’s listening, he can hear Gavin howling to him from a distance. The others have gotten even closer to Joel’s location since Michael has been gone. Michael fights the instinct to howl back, instead he honks the car horn three times, holding it on the last honk.

But to Ray…Michael is just sticking his head out the window and blaring his horn at nothing. Ray doesn’t know why, but he feels embarrassed _for_ Michael.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on here,” Ray folds his arms and looks at the floor of the car. “But you’re all weird as fuck.”

Michael sits back all the way in the car. “We need your help to find Joel.”

“…Okay, look.” Ray says. “I said this earlier, but I don’t know why you’re being so mysterious about whatever is going on. Is it supposed to be suspenseful?” He asks. “Imagine if this were a movie, TV show or…I dunno. A story or something.” Ray shrugs. “The consumer will have been sitting somewhere taking in the media _forever_. Like literally, forever. And all they’re waiting for, is for one of us to get to the fucking point. But nope, we’re literally just going down a long empty road, dancing around whatever the issue is here and-“

“What are you fucking talking about _now_?” Michael says as they finally arrive at the Den.

Jack is standing out front, shirtless and breathless. Not something Ray expected to arrive to, if he’s honest. He gets out of the car after Michael and watches Jack unfold his arms from in front of his chest.

Ray hears Michael mumbling something to Jack, then Jack makes a cough noise in the back of his throat, which seems to please Michael. That’s when Ray sees Michael go onto his toes and – okay hold on. Michael just kissed Jack! Ray called it! They’re all dating or something!

Michael places his mouth over Jack’s and bites the seam of Jack’s lips. It happens in a slow, practiced motion. And, Jack doesn’t fight it. He simply presses his forehead to Michael’s and makes that cough noise again.

“UMMM,” Ray says from a few feet back. Both Michael and Jack turn to him. “Dude!”

“We don’t have much time.” Michael says to Ray, ignoring the younger man’s shock. “Joel knows we’re looking for him.” He doesn’t lead Ray into the house, rather he leads Ray around the outside of the house. And…into the backyard.

“Where are we going exactly?” Ray asks, trying not to dwell on the fact that he’s just seen Michael and Jack kiss.

“Into the woods.” Jack responds.

“…You’re trying to tell me that you guys pissed Joel off so bad that he fucking fled into the woods?” Ray asks, and neither Michael and Jack say anything. “I feel like I’m a Minecraft zombie that you guys want to keep alive so you keep _leaving me in the dark_.”

Again, no response. Ray sighs and follows Michael further and further into the woods. Ray is reminded of why he hates the outdoors. There’s bugs, and mud, and too much sun peeking through the tops of the trees. It’s humid and smells like dirt. Ray’s itching like there’s something to scratch but it’s just him being paranoid that all the little bugs he keeps seeing are landing on him.

A wolf howls in the distance, and Ray stops in his tracks.

“Did you guys hear that?” Ray’s eyes dart between Michael and Jack who seem too focused on the howl to pay attention to Ray. “Hello?”

“We need to hurry before Joel tries to lose us.” Michael starts running.

“You mean before a wolf fucking _eats_ him.” Ray doesn’t know why, but he starts running too. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t want to be left behind in the middle of _fucking Narnia_! “Would you _slow down_??”

“Joel’s going to try and lose us! This might be our last chance!” Jack says a bit behind Ray, he’s purposefully running slower than normal to make sure he keeps tabs on Ray.

“Last chance for what?” Ray asks breathlessly, ducking under a branch that would’ve clotheslined him if he hadn’t dodged it. “A love confession? Why the fuck are we in the _woods_??”

They run and run and Ray feels like he might die or throw up. He hasn’t run this much since his car broke down the day of a new game release and he _had_ to get to Gamestop in time to get a limited edition copy. He ran all the way from his house to the store in town. If they gave away games at the end of every running marathon, Ray would be fit as fuck.

However that is not the case now. Ray is not fit, especially not fit as fuck. He can’t keep running like this -- and Ray’s about to tell them to just go on without him when there’s suddenly a dark area of the woods. The tree coverage is so thick that…Ray can’t see much at all, but he can hear Michael’s feet continuing to move ahead of him. He can’t hear Jack’s feet anymore.

“You guys?” Ray calls. “Are you kidding me??” He looks in either direction with his unadjusted eyes, but doesn’t want to turn around on his feet because he’ll lose whatever direction Michael had been running it.

Ray begins walking carefully forward, but somehow manages to trip on a thick tree root anyway. The root snags his foot and he falls onto his hands and knees. He curses and groans. But then, goes silent and very still.

Something is breathing on him. It has large puffing breaths, and they’re hitting Ray right below his neck. The breather growls, and lamely, Ray squeaks. This must be the wolf he’d heard earlier.

 _Dear Diary,_ Ray thinks. _Today I discovered that I hate my friends. I also discovered that they’re all dating or something, which is cool. I don’t judge. Lastly, I discovered that I’m about to get fucking eaten by a wolf because Joel Fucking Heyman thought it would be a great idea to flee into the damn woods after a lovers’ spat._

Ray closed his eyes and hoped that if he didn’t move, the wolf wouldn’t notice him anymore. But, that wasn’t the case. He felt the humid breath move to his arm, causing Ray to shudder. The wolf’s mouth opened and then with another growl moved slowly to close over Ray’s arm. But, Ray moved quickly and – against better judgement – starting running and calling to Jack and Michael for help.

“Jack! Michael!!” Ray yelled, running through the forest that he couldn’t see anymore. But, the further he ran, he could see light peeking out, leading to an open area of grass. _Oh_ thank god.

Ray got to the clearing, only to be met with more darkness. What? Ray had just seen light there.

But, the closer Ray got to the opening, he realized that the darkness wasn’t the absence of light, but the color of…fur. Fuck, fuck, _fuck_! Another wolf?? And…it’s huge! Ray stopped and turned to go the other way. But, with the little bit of light peeking between the outline of the wolf blocking the way, Ray could now see the original wolf that was chasing him. Though it wasn’t as big as the darker wolf, this one was big as hell too!

“Whaaat the fuck??” Ray exclaims.

There’s nowhere to run now…

So, Ray just stands there.

“Joel!”

All hope was not lost! Ray heard Michael’s voice and turned to him. Michael was shirtless and barefoot, panting just as hard as Ray was. Though, Ray was confused because…Michael was talking to the largest wolf and calling it – _Joel_?

Wait…

“Joel, we’ve found you. Hide and seek is fucking over!” Michael yells. “Come take care of your responsibilities or just step down the right way! Don’t go being a little bitch and running into the woods to hide!”

The other wolf, who'd been chasing Ray, growls at Michael.

“Ryan you know it’s true!” Michael glares at the wolf with the golden fur. “Why do I get shit on for telling the truth??” He asks then turns to the larger wolf again. “Joel, I’ve been doing your job since you’ve been gone. And, it’s not easy. Okay? I get it…but christ, man…don’t run out on us like this. Let us help you.”

The large black wolf narrows their eyes on Michael then glares at Ray. Reflexively. Ray backs away.

“Ray’s here because we knew you’d head back if you heard him screaming.” Michael explains and Ray frowns at him.

“Did you just use me as bait? Is that why I’m here?” Ray asks, unsure if he should be offended or not. “And I wasn’t screaming…I was yelling.”

“Whatever you were doing,” Geoff’s voice comes along with the sound of sticks breaking under weight. “It lured Joel back.”

When Ray turned to look at Geoff, he saw the tatted man was nude and being followed by a crème colored wolf. Ray’s eyes widened, he knows that wolf. He’s dreamt about it.

“That – that’s…” Ray points to the light colored wolf. “That’s Gavin! I remember – I had a dream where Gavin turned into-“

“It's true.” Michael confirms. “You saw Gavin turn after Joel and I fought. You caught Joel off guard and he attacked you. That’s what happened to your head.”

“What…?” Ray tries to remember all of that happening, but he can’t.

“You came into the bathroom and saw my bleeding wolf form.” Michael says calmly as he can. “Ray we’re wolves. Werewolves.”

“No but,” Ray frowns. “In my dream…”

“Joel was our alpha…and packs feel unstable without their alpha, which is why we were weird about Joel missing.” Michael tries to rush the explanation so he can get back to Joel. “And like I said, Joel. I am stepping up. So, what are you going to do about it? Do you want to keep your place as alpha? Get in your skin and talk to me.”

Joel hesitates, but then lets his **were** relax enough to be able to shift back into his human form. Ray watches with wide eyes as Joel’s body begins to ripple heat waves into the air around him. He can practically feel the heat ebbing off of Joel from where he stood. There was the sound of bones shifting, creaking...sort of meaty crunch, like the way they do bone breaking sound effects in the Mortal Kombat games. Ray cringes, but watches as Joel moves from being this massive creature to…a human being again. A naked human being.

“I’m not getting any more used to seeing you all in your birthday suits…” Ray says, then moves his hands into his hair. “Holy fuck this is _real_. This is a thing…!” He begins pacing and gripping at his roots.

Joel is panting, body regaining its feel for the human form. He’s swaying as his equilibrium re-calibrates to the feeling of standing on two legs instead of four. His eyes remain on Ray, watching closely as the younger man paces and murmurs disbeliefs to himself.

“Why is _he_ here?” Joel motions to Ray, even though Michael already explained why Ray was here. “Why are any of you here??”

“You’re our alpha!” Michael hisses, aware of -- but not watching -- as Gavin shifts from his wolf form and into his human skin as well.

“We need you, Joel.” Gavin says, his voice is rough from the change but his words sound a bit whiney. He's not at ashamed of that. “Please, it’s been so…it’s just not right.”

Joel has a soft spot for Gavin and the older male feels his heart twitch.

“I hurt you guys, I’ve been unable to control myself.” Joel tries to justify himself. “I’m not right…in my head. I can’t control my **were** either. It’s getting worse and worse, that’s why I left.”

“They’re fucking _wolves_!” Ray is still pacing, walking between Michael and Joel as he continues. Everyone waits for Ray to pass before going back to what they were saying.

“You could’ve gone to Burnie!” Michael says. “You can still go to Burnie, it’s not too late. Honestly, he probably knows more about what’s going on with you. It’s probably fixable.”

“And what if he can’t fix it?” Joel asks. “What if it gets so bad that I hurt one of you bad enough to _kill_ you?”

“That’s what I don’t understand.” Geoff speaks up. “If we form packs on instinct, why would your **were** make you attack your pack?”

“Does your **were** see us as your pack, Joel?” Jack’s brow furrows.

“You all smell nonthreatening to me.” Joel says.

“Then why do you want to hurt us?” Gavin sounds broken, soft sadness in his voice.

“No…Gavin…” Joel’s frame sags. “I don’t want to-“

“They’re just standing around _naked_ in the middle of the fucking _woods_!” Ray passes through the conversers again. “Like it’s an everyday occurrence! Did I mention they turned into and out of _wolves_ just seconds ago! In the movies and shit, people are allowed to freak out about everything before everyone just carries on like nothing just happened! But _no_ , I’m just in the background losing my shit while everyone else has their little moment or whatever! It’s fine!” And then he’s out of the way again.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone…not anymore. Not like my old pack.” Joel shakes his head. “It’d be safer if I stayed out here until whatever this is passes.”

Michael growled. “You're still determined to run? You still want to leave us alpha-less?” He smirks mirthlessly. “Fine, enough standing and talking.” Heat begins to wave over his skin. “Stand down or stand up.”

“Michael…I’m being serious.” Joel’s eyes actually widen with fear. “I don’t want to hurt you and-“

“Coward! You’re a fucking coward!” Michael’s voice goes rough with transition, his bones lengthen and reform under his skin. His speech turns into ragged roars as he turns into his inhuman form, shaking out his auburn fur as he begins to rise against Joel.

Joel is fighting his urge to shift, but it’s like trying to hold in a sneeze. You can only hold it in so long before your body convulses and you sneeze anyway. He hunches forward to try to fight it, heat ebbing off of him. He wants so badly to resist but…it happens. And, it happens quickly.

Suddenly there is Michael and Joel, two wolves, staring each other down. Michael bites Joel over the muzzle: _Stand down, submit_! But Joel resists it, swiping Michael with a paw, much like he’d down to Ray two months ago. But, Michael isn’t a scrawny human like Ray, his wolf barely flinches.

Gavin, human formed and naked, hides behind Geoff. Ryan’s wolf, who had been quiet all of this time, pushes himself from where he was laying on the ground, letting the solid earth cool his underbelly. He growls and gets between Michael and Joel, turning his head to glare at Michael. Ryan then bites Michael over the muzzle, in warning: _Know your place, do not rise against our alpha. Stand down._

Michael is having none of it, he isn’t sure if he wants to fight Ryan or Joel now. He has half a mind to leave this pack, the jumbled chaos that it was. It wasn’t worth it to have to deal with these disorganized fucks. Joel doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing, and everyone gets mad at Michael for pointing that out! Doesn't anyone agree with him? Why is everyone too much of a chicken shit to say anything?

Jack normally would be able to calm everyone down, but the pack is too wound up. But, maybe he could get them to come to an agreement.

“Hey, everyone?” Jack spoke up. “Perhaps we can…work something out?”

“What?” Geoff and Gavin ask at the same time.

“Let’s take Joel to Burnie, just to see what Burnie says.” Jack suggests.

“And…then what?” Geoff asks.

“This is just the first step. We’ll have to see what Burnie says, then we can draw our next plan from that.”

Jack is surprised when everyone (eventually) agrees.

~*~

Ray, Ryan, Michael and Geoff get into Michael’s car.

Gavin chose to ride with Joel and Jack in Jack’s car. He wanted to be with the sentient and his alpha because he felt best that way, and he needed that right now. Jack drove while Gavin laid in the back with Joel. Gavin had pulled Joel on top of him and was running his fingers through Joel’s hair and purring soothingly to his alpha. Joel was just focusing on his breathing in attempt to keep his **were** calm, he hates being so out of control…he hates not knowing why his **were** lashes out. He hates that he hurts members of the pack…like how his old pack used to be.

“So,” Ray says in the other car. “What does Burnie have to do with all of this?”

Geoff and Ryan look up from the back seat. Michael glances at them in the rearview mirror.

“He’s not a wolf.” Michael replies, but that doesn’t answer Ray’s question.

“Yeah, but…why would he know more about whatever is going on with Joel than you all?” Ray asks another question.

“This world isn’t what you think it is, Ray.” Michael speaks the words carefully. “There aren’t just humans, and there aren’t just animals. There are things that meet in the middle…like us. Humans and wolves.”

“You’re saying that there are…humans and _other_ things besides just wolves?" Ray’s eyes widen.

“I’m not denying it.” Michael shrugs.

“Is Burnie…?” Ray leans his head back. “A human and _another_ thing?”

“More or less.” Michael nods.

“Am I the only human around here?” Ray feels left out, oddly.

“You mean at the office?” Geoff butts in. “No, Gus and Matt Hullum are human.”

“Kerry is humam.” Ryan adds. “And, Adam Ellis.”

“It would’ve been more assuring if you’d said ‘oh no Ray, loads of people are’ but you didn’t…” Ray points out…and everyone looks sheepish. “This is insane. Why didn’t anyone warn me that I was about to join a company full of – whatever the fuck?”

“Our company isn’t _made_ for those sorts of beings.” Geoff says. “It is simply welcome to those sorts of people, very welcome.”

“Right,” Ray closes his eyes. “Well, let me get a grasp on the whole wolves thing first.”

~*~

Burnie was waiting outside for them when they arrived. Jack’s vehicle arrived first and Burnie steeled himself for whatever Joel might be like when he got out of the car. But, really…Joel just looked tired and uneasy. Burnie didn’t like seeing his friend like this.

“Come inside.” Burnie pat Joel on his back, and felt even worse when his friend flinched at the touch. “Are the others on their way as well?”

As if on cue, the other car pulled into Burnie’s driveway.

“There they are.” Jack smiles tightly and leads Joel into Burnie’s home.

“Excellent.” Burnie says on an exhaled breath, keeping his eyes on Michael. The younger male’s **were** was just as agitated as Joel’s. Burnie doesn’t know if inviting both of them into the house at the same time was a good idea. Michael caught Burnie’s eyes and narrowed his own.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Michael says as he approaches. “I’ll stay out of the way if you fix him.”

“I cannot promise that I’ll fix him.” Burnie holds his hands behind his back. “I do wish to speak to you on the matter as well – alone, however. Will you wait for me in my office?”

“How long will I be waiting?” Michael looks quizzical.

“Not sure.”

“Then no,” Michael starts walking back to his car. “I’ll be back later. Gonna go get something to eat. Maybe go home for a while.”

“Just come back to see me before the day is over?” Burnie raises a brow in question.

“You got it, Burns.” Michael gets back into his car and drives off.

~*~

Everyone was gathered into Burnie’s living room. The room was designed with dark woods, leather seating, high ceilings and an open floor plan. When Burnie entered the room, no one asked where Michael was.

“Ray,” Burnie says first. “Good to see you.” He looks sort of apologetic. “So, you have found out the truth?”

“Bits and pieces of it.” Ray stands awkwardly while everyone else sits. “No one seems willing to tell me the whole truth. Ever.”

“I imagine that someone will be willing to do so after this day.” Burnie crosses one leg over the other. “Sorry if you find that I’m speaking so formally. I am comfortable.”

“You talk formally when you’re _comfortable_.” Ray’s looks surprised.

“People talked more like this in my time,” Burnie chuckles. “I never did grow out of it.”  

 _My time?? Is he a vampire then?? Or do those not exist? What is he??_ Ray stares at Burnie, now expecting to see fangs that he might not have previously noticed.

“Anyway,” Burnie turns his attention to the mass of men on the sofa. “Where should we start? I could take a look at Joel straight away, or you all could tell me a bit of what’s going on? Jack was brief on the phone.”

“Joel’s demeanor first changed when Ray first came to RT.” Gavin says. “But, in an entirely good way. He was very interested in Ray, and he seemed to relax quite a bit.”

“Yeah, then Ray came to the nest and Joel couldn’t take his eyes off him.” Jack adds. “It seemed like…Joel’s **were** was curious about the human we’ve brought to the Den, and was maybe interested in having him as a part of the pack.”

“Then, Ray stopped coming around to the Den.” Geoff sighs. “We were just…having a dry streak – no visitors to the Den. It wasn’t because we didn’t want Ray there. It was just…our instincts were telling us to spend time as a pack, and Ray wasn’t one of us…so…”

“Joel began getting aggresive some time between then.” Gavin says. “The first time was when he gnashed his teeth at Michael when Michael approached him. The next, Joel shoved me really hard and…” Gavin whines. “Then…there were a few times after that to other of us. But, the worst was when Michael and Joel started fighting. I couldn’t tell who started it-“

“Michael did.” Joel spoke up. “He told me that I was a shitty alpha, and that no good alpha would attack his own pack like I was. I tried telling him that I didn’t mean to do it, and he told me to go fuck myself and punched me. We broke out into our fur and…everything is blurry after that.”

“Joel tore Michael up pretty bad.” Geoff admits. “Michael had to stay in wolf form in order not to bleed out.”

Burnie grimaces. “Oh god…”

Joel cringes at Burnie’s response. “I hurt Ray that day too, and I never wanted to hurt Ray. I wanted everyone to keep him away from me.”

“Joel wanted all of us to stay away from him after that, and he ran out into the woods and we didn’t see him for two months.” Gavin says. “We just found him today – we had to use Ray as bait.”

“Ray…as bait?” Burnie looks between Joel and Ray.

“We knew Joel would return for Ray if he thought Ray was in danger.” Gavin explains.

“Why is that, Joel?” Burnie asks, entirely curious about it.

“I…” Joel looks at Ray, then away from him. Joel runs a hand over his face. “I can’t tell if it’s… _me_ or my instincts but…I just…there’s something about Ray…I don’t…”

The wolves, and Burnie, can sense the incline of Joel’s heart rate. No one comments on it.

“To be honest…” Joel closes his eyes tightly. “The others smell like family to me.” He looks at the other wolves that are sitting on either side of him. “But, Ray smells like…pack. Like…he belongs with me – or _to_ me. I don’t know.”

“We…we don’t smell like pack?” Gavin’s jaw drops open. “We asked you about that earlier and you said that we did!”

“You do! You smell like pack…but a different sort of pack.” Joel shakes his head. “I don’t know, I don’t know. My last pack smelled like pack too, but a different kind. And, they weren’t even a _good_ pack. Maybe I just don’t know what a pack smells like – or I’m not good at telling what pack smells like. I’m learning!”

Ray isn’t sure what to say. Should he be flattered? Should he be frightened? What does that even mean? _I smell like I belong with Joel – belong_ **_to him_ ** _?_

“This is all very confusing.” Burnie says to the other wolves, less so to Joel himself. “Let’s not draw conclusions. Let’s keep with the facts, Joel is your alpha. He’s pack bonded to all of you, his instincts have led him to become the alpha of this pack. That wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t fit to do so. Some things are just getting a little lost in translation.”

The other wolves don’t seem to know what to think, but they nod just to let Burnie know that his words haven’t fallen on dead ears.

“For now,” Burnie continues. “I’m going to ask the rest of the pack to leave. Ray, you will remain here for Joel’s examination.”

It takes the rest of the pack a moment before they all leave the room. Joel watches Burnie cautiously.

~*~

“I’ll look at you in your human from first.” Burnie takes a breath. “If that doesn’t give us enough clues about your condition, I’ll look at your **were**.”

“Fine.” Joel replies dryly.

“Does that sound alright to you?” Burnie wants to make sure he has Joel’s consent.

“Whatever gets the answers, I’m willing to do.” Joel nods certainly, then stands still, waiting for the process to begin.

Ray watched closely as Burnie examined Joel, hoping to see Burnie do some cool supernatural things so that he could try and guess what sort of being Burnie is. But, Burnie didn’t do anything that Ray hasn’t seen a regular doctor do during a routine checkup.

Burnie begins by taking ahold of Joel’s stubbly chin and tilting Joel’s face down towards his own. And, Joel opens his mouth patiently to let Burnie see his teeth.

The process started from there.

~*~

“What do you think Burnie's doing to him in there?” Gavin asks, hooking his chin over his knees. He watched Ryan sprawl his human form over the grassy area of Burnie's backyard. Geoff and Jack were nearby, draped over each other to sunbathe.

“Givin’ Joel the ‘once over’,” Ryan replies tipping his head up towards the sun's rays. “Like he gave all of us when we arrived. Joel has been through this before, don't worry.”

“What if...it's something bad? And they have to send him away…” Gavin gives a distressed whine that sounds less human than it should.

“Gavin,” Ryan sits upright and looks at Gavin seriously. “Joel is strong and he is our alpha. He will be alright. He'll make it through this and come back to us.”

“Yeah,” Geoff agrees. “For now, stop worrying and come get some of this sun.”

“Where's Michael?” Gavin doesn't stop worrying, but does go and worm himself between Jack and Geoff, feeling the sentient’s **were** humming soothing vibrations from within Jack.

“He just needed some space.” Jack leans down to brush a scratchy bearded cheek over Gavin's forehead. The Brit protested verbally, but offered himself to Jack’s nuzzling nonetheless. “Michael will be back later to meet with Burnie on his own.”

~*~

Joel hated being poked and prodded when he _wasn’t_ in this state of mental and physical limbo. So, this was even worse than usual. His human mind was going toe to toe with his instincts. And, his instincts were louder than than the rest of him.

As Burnie examined him, Joel watched Ray. The younger man’s brow was furrowed in concern, and Joel had to fight the urge to protect him. Not that there was any threat to Ray right now that Joel would need to protect him from. Burnie wasn’t going to hurt Ray. But, having someone so close to Ray that wasn’t Joel, was making Joel’s **were** territorial.

The only thing that kept Joel from ripping Burnie’s throat out with his teeth were the facts that Burnie was a familiar person and friend to both Joel and his **were**. But, it was also because Joel knew that attacking Burnie wouldn’t mean that Joel could kill him.

Ray watched Burnie exam Joel in a way that, to Joel, looked like Ray wasn’t enjoying Burnie poking and prodding at Joel either.

“Do you know how werewolves come to be, Ray?” Burnie asks in a distant voice as he uses his fingertips to follow the veins running from Joel’s shoulder to the center of his wrists.

Ray was caught off guard by the question, mostly because he hadn’t expected there to be talking until after the examination was done. And, he still wasn’t used to the formal twang of Burnie’s ‘relaxed’ voice.

“I’m sure you know that I have no idea where werewolves come from.” Ray replies, taking a step back from Burnie and Joel -- for some reason. “Two horny werewolves bang and make little baby ones, right? Or is it like the movies and you have to be bitten?”

“A bit of both.” Burnie looks over his shoulder, away from Joel with a small smile on his face. “Joel came to be, because the werewolf trait is in his bloodline. However, that trait didn’t show itself until he was a grown man. Well, twenty.”

“Oh...alright.” Ray wasn’t sure where Burnie was going with this, but he was up for a history lesson. It might make this whole non-human beings existing seem more real and less like fiction.

“However, it usually shows itself much earlier in trait-born wolves.” Burnie continues. “Gavin is a trait-born wolf as well, and his **were** showed itself at the age of six. That is well within the normal range - which is usually between three and eight.”

“Okay…” Ray nods.

“Jack is a trait-born wolf,” Burnie says. “Michael as well. Ryan however, is not.”

“Then, what is he?” Ray asks.

“He was bitten by an alpha.” Joel cuts in, and Burnie looks relieved that Joel is speaking. “Only alphas can turn humans, and only under certain circumstances.”

“Alphas are given the ability to create more wolves, for the sole reason that they will use the ability in order to expand and strengthen their packs.” Burnie explains. “But, sometimes alpha’s use their abilities for...other reasons.”

“Like the alpha that I had.” Joel doesn’t go into more details than that.

“And things get complicated,” Burnie says. “Because sometimes, a wolf that wasn’t born an alpha, can become an alpha."

“Wow, so much information.” Ray sighs. “But, okay?”

“Speaking of Joel, in relation to other wolves,” Burnie stops examining Joel and turns to Ray. “Joel’s **were** has never been quite what you would call _normal_. The late emergence of his **were** at twenty for starters, is very rare. And, because his **were** appeared so late…”

“It sort of _skipped_ some of the vital wolf developmental stages.” Joel shakes his head. “Which it isn’t supposed to do.”

“What does that mean?” Ray asks.

“Usually as a young adolescent,” Burnie begins. “Werewolves have a period where their **weres** have time to be feral. In this period, the **were** has uninterrupted time to develop and it’s usually in this time that wolves discover whether or not they are an alpha, or fit somewhere else on the ranking scale.”

“Then...how did Joel’s **were** develop? Is it fully developed?”

“It’s fully developed.” Joel sighs. “That’s sort of the problem. My **were** developed on its own, without me being there for the feral period. So, because of that, my **were** and I don’t really know each other too well.”

“During the adolescent feral period, werewolves get to know that part of themselves.” Burnie explains. “They become two co-existing beings and usually can be fluid in and around each other without battle.”

“I don’t know my **were** , not well anyway.” Joel says. “And, not to mention my last pack tormented my **were** so it’s not too friendly by nature...and it’s a bit antisocial as well.”

“Oh…” Ray nods. “That’s why you don’t always join in for playtime with the others?”

“Mostly…” Joel nods too. “But, I think what Burnie is getting at...is that my **were** is about to transition into a feral period?”

“Yes.” Burnie says and then looks a bit preoccupied. “Joel, do you know what adult wolves’ feral periods are like? I know they’re rare, but have you heard anything about them before?”

“I haven’t heard much.” Joel admits. “Are they much different than adolescents’?” Joel snorts and shrugs his shoulders. “Do I just chew some furniture and hump a few things for a little while?”

“Not quite.” Burnie replies quickly.

“Oh?” Joel arches a brow.

“The problem with adults going into feral periods,” Burnie begins. “Is that their **weres** are already developed, and usually very strong and able to overpower their human mind.”

“What the hell are you saying, Burnie?” Joel frowns.

“You’re going to have to give in to your feral period.” Burnie shakes his head. “Don’t fight it, because it will make your **were** more eager to overtake you.”

“But won’t that mean that I’ll just stay feral?” Joel hisses. “What the hell are you suggesting that I do, Burns?”

“What usually happens with adult wolves,” Burnie sighs. “Is they remain feral for that period, and listen to their wolves. Find the pattern that they take, every day that you allow them to be feral. And, when they begin to subside and calm, you begin to fight it.”

“Fight it?” Ray echos.

“Let your human mind try to free itself from the **were** ’s cloak.” Burnie says.

“What if I lose the fight?” Joel asks.

“Keep fighting it and hopefully you’ll get out.”

“That sounds like _bullshit_.”

“Joel-”

“No, Burnie.” Joel growls. “Are you sure that’s what happening to me?”

“Nearly certain.” Burnie confirms.

“What’s Joel supposed to do, if that is the case?” Ray looks between the two of them. “What’s the first step to helping him succeed in overpowering the **were** when it comes time?”

Burnie and Joel both look at Ray.

“Well,” Burnie says and Joel and Ray look to him now. “Get him somewhere comfortable. Let him relax up until the days where his feral period truly begins.”

Joel makes a rough sound. “So I sit somewhere until I lose my mind?”

Burnie doesn’t say anything, Joel laughs almost mockingly.

“Great, fucking great.” Joel turns away from the two other men. “Great.”

“I have faith that you'll get out of this, Joel.” Burnie insists. “You're the most stubborn son of a bitch I know. You won’t let this wolf get the better of you.” This is the most _normal Burnie_ speech Ray’s heard come out of the man since they got here.

“Thanks.” Joel says dryly. “That’s great.”

“I wish I had more to say.” Burnie says to Ray, oddly enough. “I feel so useless here.”

“You’re not the one who’s about to lose his mind.” Joel turns and glares at Burnie. “I’m the one who’s useless. As a person and as an alpha.”

“That’s _not_ true, Joel.” Burnie sounds desperate to make Joel believe that. “You have to have more faith in yourself, and a strong will, if you’re going to get through this.”

“Right.” Joel feels like he needs a jacket to wrap around himself. Another layer over his skin. But then, he realizes it's just his instincts wishing to be cloaked in his fur. “I’m heading to my apartment to grab some things. Then,” He shrugs. “Guess I’ll be heading to the Den to wait out my final days of sanity.”

“Understood.” Burnie nods. “You of course will have this time off of work with no consequences.”

Joel scoffs. “Oh, wow. I was so worried.”

“He means thank you.” Ray cuts in, and both Joel and Burnie are surprised that he does.

“Thank you, Ray.” Burnie chuckles. “I know he does.”

“See ya.” Joel turns to head out of the room.

“Wait!” Ray jogs to catch up. “I’m going with you.”

“...What?” Joel stops walking and turns to Ray. “Why would you?”

“The guys said...you feel better around me.” Ray avoids Joel’s eyes. “And, I think you might need someone to drive you.”

Joel debates that for a minute. “I hurt you...before.”

“You weren’t yourself.”

“I’m still not myself.”

“Also, I sort of came out of nowhere.” Ray shrugs. “You know I’m here now, I shouldn’t startle you this time.”

“I could kill you.”

“But, you won’t.”

“How do you know?” Joel demands, and Ray doesn’t have an answer. When Ray doesn’t reply, Joel shakes his head. “See what I mean? You don’t know. I could hurt you. _Kill you_.”

“He should go with you.” Burnie says.

Joel cuts his eyes to the curly haired man. “Burnie, _please_. You know what I’m capable of.”

“I know what you’re not capable of, as well.” Burnie counters. “You implied that Ray smelled closer to you than your own pack did. And, you’re not like your _old pack_. You’re not an animal…okay, poor choice of words. But, you know what I meant.”

Joel debated this as well, then sighed. “You have a good point. Maybe you’re right.”

“I believe I’m right, too.” Burnie nods. “You’re not feral yet. Still, I think having someone driving you would be a good idea.”

“Alright, alright.” Joel waves a hand. “I’m convinced. You got me, calm down.” He looks down to the younger man. “C’mon, Ray. Watch me go crazy.”

~*~

Ray isn’t sure what he really expects Joel’s apartment to be like. But, he is surprised by what he finds. Joel lives almost on the outskirts of the city. Joel’s apartment is closer to the Den than 636.

The apartment itself is furnished in a pretty modern fashion, but in a comfortable way. The sofa in the living room is a very fashionable leather couch, and Ray expects it to be stiff in the way that leather is. It’s not though, Ray feels himself relax right into the surprisingly plush furniture. It’s soft, but not too soft. Firm, but not too firm. Ray can’t help but sigh contently when he sits down  on it.

“You like?” Joel comments with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Yes, I like.” Ray wriggles his bottom. “This couch would be great to make a butt mold on.”

“...Butt mold?”

“You know,” Ray looks over the back of the sofa to watch Joel in the kitchen as he opens a coffee tin to see how much is left inside. “When you sit somewhere enough times, and for long enough that your shape is permanently molded into the furniture.”

“Like making your own memory foam?” Joel laughs, and Ray does too.

“Dude, yeah.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“It’s like a real life achievement, that I’m yet to get.” Ray smirks.

“Well, don’t butt mold on my couch.”

“I’m tempted.”

“Are you sure you haven’t butt molded somewhere?” Joel asks. “You seem to know a lot about it for someone who hasn’t done it.”

“Nah, never done it.” Ray shakes his head. “But I’ve seen some _awesome_ ones.”

“Oh yeah?” Joel genuinely sounds curious. “Where at and who made them?”

Joel listens as Ray tells his story, laughing at some of the crazier points and exclaiming ‘ _whaaaat_ ’ at some of the more unbelievable or incredible points. By the end of the tale about the fourth butt mold, Joel appears from his bedroom with a large and well packed duffle bag and a coffee tin in his arms.

He rocks forward and back on his heels. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Ray doesn’t really want to get up off of this couch. But, he does. “Let’s go.”

~*~

The drive to the Den was actually really fun. Joel had a million funny stories to tell Ray, most of them had to do with crazy adventures that he had with Burnie years ago. The others had to do with working with Adam Ellis and the shenanigans that came along with that.

By the time they arrived at the Den, Ray’s sides were aching from laughing so much. Joel wiped laughter-induced tears from his own eyes as Ray parked the car.

“Thanks for the ride.” Joel said, still grinning. Dimples and smiles lines.

“Oh, yeah.” Ray nods. “No problem, I offered.”

“I know. Still,” Joel opens the car door and grabs his duffel bag. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Ray says again, then Joel closes the car door behind him and trudges up to the small house and disappears inside. Something doesn’t sit right with Ray...about just leaving Joel up here on his own. But, maybe the other wolves will come up to check on him.

 _Wolves_ , Ray thinks. _They’re wolves. Werewolves._ He pulls the car back into the direction of town. _Werewolves exist._

~*~

Burnie looked up from his book when he sensed a presence somewhere on the edge of his property. Standing on the front lawn of his house. Not human, young, strong heart. Heated and agitated **were**.

“You can come in, Michael.” Burnie said in a normal-volumed voice. He knew Michael could hear him from where he was.

Joel and Ray had left hours ago, and the others shortly after them. So, it was just going to be the two of them.

Michael eventually made his way to Burnie’s living room. He’s barefoot and catching his breath. He’d been in his wolf form not too long ago. Burnie can sense a certain energy on him.

“You’ve hunted.” Burnie comments, closing his book.

“Yes.” Michael’s voice is still rough from the change. “How’d it go with Joel?”

“Well,” Burnie pauses. “Er...as well as to be expected in his condition.”

“Condition?”

“Yes.”

Michael’s eyes roam over Burnie, he’s curious. “What condition?”

“Allow me to explain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Joel is basically going through werewolf puberty. Ray is definitely going to have fun teasing Joel about that. Though, it's no laughing matter for adult werewolves. It's pretty dangerous.  
> Btw, about the wolves, they're not all dating, Ray's just convinced that they are because of how they're behaving.
> 
> Alright, see ya in the next one.


End file.
